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Coffee table book

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Coffee table book on acoffee table

Acoffee table book,also known as acocktail table book[citation needed],is an oversized, usuallyhard-coveredbook whose purpose is for display on atableintended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire conversation or pass the time. Subject matter is predominantlynon-fictionandpictorial(aphoto-book). Pages consist mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, as opposed to long prose. Since they are aimed at anyone who might pick up the book for a light read, the analysis inside is often more basic and with lessjargonthan other books on the subject. Because of this, the term "coffee table book" can be usedpejorativelyto indicate a superficial approach to the subject.[citation needed].

In the field of mathematics, a coffee table book is usually a notebook containing a number of mathematical problems and theorems contributed by a community meeting in a particular place, or connected by a common scientific interest. An example of this was theScottish Bookcreated by mathematicians atLviv Universityin the 1930s and 1940s.

History

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According to different estimations, the 1992 bookSexbyMadonna(pictured) is both the fastest-selling and best-selling coffee table book in publishing history.[1][2]

The concept of a book intended essentially for display over perusal was mentioned byMichel de Montaignein his 1581 essay "Upon Some Verses of Virgil": "I am vexed that my Essays only serve the ladies for a common movable, a book to lay in the parlor window..."[3]Almost two centuries later,Laurence Sternein his 1759 comic novelThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemanadvanced the more lighthearted view that "As my life and opinions are likely to make some noise in the world, and... be no less read than the Pilgrim's Progress itself- and, in the end, prove the very thing Montaigne dreaded his Essays should turn out, that is, a book for a parlour window..."[4]

Beginning in the late 1940s, publisher AlbertSkiraand a few others, such as Cailler and Editions Tisné, Éditions Mazenod, andHarry N. Abrams,began producing largefolio and quarto(4to) format art books, illustrated withtipped-incolor plates, that were significant in the development of coffee table books as known today.[5][6][7]

David Broweris sometimes credited with inventing the modern coffee table book.[8]While serving as executive director of theSierra Club,he had the idea for a series of books that combinednature photographyand writings on nature, with, as he put it, "a page size big enough to carry a given image’s dynamic. The eye must be required to move about within the boundaries of the image, not encompass it all in one glance." The first such book,This is the American Earth,with photographs byAnsel Adamsand others and text byNancy Newhall,was published in 1960; the series became known as the "Exhibit Format" series, with 20 titles eventually published.[9]

The term "coffee table book" appeared inArts Magazinein 1961,[10]and in the title ofThe Coffee Table Book of Astrology,published in 1962.[11]

They have also found uses inpropaganda,such as a book on the life ofEast GermanleaderWalter Ulbricht[12]and another onAlbanianleaderEnver Hoxha.[13]

As of 2011,Madonna's 1992 bookSexremained the most searched for out-of-print coffee table book.[14]

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Coffee table books have been featured in several areas of popular culture.

  • In the 1980s, British comedy duoSmithandJonesreleasedThe lavishly-tooled Smith and Jones Coffee Table Book[15]— its cover was designed to look as if the book could double as a coffee table.
  • The 1987 comedyThrow Momma from the Trainhas a running joke about one of the character's attempts to write a "coffee table book", the book is a list of female celebrities he'd like to have sex with.
  • The fifth season (1993–1994) of the sitcomSeinfeldincluded astory arcinvolvingKramerwanting to write acoffee table book about coffee tableswhich would have legs built into the back cover and coasters built into the front cover, so the book itself could be turned into a small coffee table.Elaine Benes,who worked for Pendant Publishing, did not think that Kramer's idea was any good, but her boss (Mr. Lippman) learned about it from Kramer himself and turned it into a book, much to Elaine's dumbfounded surprise and dismay.
  • In the 2012Family Guyepisode "You Can't Do That on Television, Peter", Peter states that he,Joe SwansonandGlen Quagmireare making a coffee table book oflesbianbutts in 1980s jeans.
  • Late-night talk showConanfeatures a sketch called "Coffee Table Books That Didn't Sell",in whichConan O'Brienreviews several fake coffee table books with odd and nonsensical premises, such asMovie Stars With Their Eyes Pushed Closer Together.

See also

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Book sources

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  • Morton, Andrew(2002).Madonna.Macmillan Publishers.ISBN0-312-98310-7.

References

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  1. ^Morton 2002,p. 54
  2. ^ Horswill, Ian (September 25, 2015)."Madonna's Sex remains the most wanted out of print book".News.com.au.Archived fromthe originalon November 8, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 20,2021.
  3. ^"Essays by Michel de Montaigne".Oregonstate.edu. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-08.Retrieved2014-03-28.
  4. ^"The novels of Laurence Sterne (Volume 1)"(PDF).1873.Retrieved2014-03-28.
  5. ^Chilvers, Ian and John Glaves-Smith (2015) A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art (3 ed.). Oxford University Press.ISBN9780191792229https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100510260(accessed 25 August 2019)
  6. ^Dufrêne, Bernadette (2002) L'édition d'art des années 1950-1970: des promesses non tenues?, Communication et langages. No. 134, 4 ème trimestre 22-38 pp. [Dufrêne, Bernadette (2002). The Art Edition of the 1950s and 1970s: Unfulfilled Promises? Communication and Languages, 134(4): 22-38.]
  7. ^Corisande Evesque. Albert Skira et ses livres d’art (1948-1973). Histoire. 2015. ffdumas-01256888. PDF:https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01256888/document(accessed 25 August 2019)
  8. ^"Harold Wood Presentation on H.R. 2715 - LeConte Memorial Lodge".Sierraclub.org. 2003-11-15.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-09-10.Retrieved2014-03-28.
  9. ^"Natural Visions - Nature on the Coffee Table".
  10. ^Arts Magazine, Volume 36.Art Digest Incorporated. 1961.
  11. ^National Review, Volume 13.National Review, Incorporated. 1962.
  12. ^"Walter Ulbricht — ein Leben für Deutschland, excerpts from the German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University".Calvin.edu.Retrieved2014-03-28.
  13. ^Enver Hoxha: 1908-1985.Tirana: Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies at the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania. 1986.
  14. ^Flood, Alison (30 August 2011)."Madonna's Sex most sought after out-of-print book".The Guardian.Retrieved8 February2017.
  15. ^Jones, Griff Rhys; P. R. McGrath; Clive Anderson (1986).The lavishly-tooled Smith and Jones Coffee Table Book.ISBN0-00-637123-X.
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